Cheers and Jeers

Saturday

Jan 7, 2006 at 12:01 AM

CHEERSHonesty is its own -- and best -- reward: Christmas is a time when people save for months to splurge a little on their friends and family members. But amid all the shopping this year, one shopper misplaced her stashed cash.

Luckily, when Catherine Popay of Houma found the envelope containing $1,140 in a local department store, she called people with contacts who helped her find the money’s rightful owner, saving Christmas for that family.

Holding nearly $1,200 in cash may test even the most scrupulous of individuals, but Popay’s efforts to find the money’s owner speaks volumes about her character. In her heart, Popay undoubtedly feels good about herself -- and has $150 in gift certificates and cards given to her by the money’s owner as a thank you. It’s a nice bonus for having moral fortitude.

In a time when charges of thefts and other criminal violations can be found in newsprint daily, it’s refreshing to be able to hear about someone who does the right thing.

JEERS

No-class tour: Gray Line New Orleans set a new standard in bad taste Wednesday when it gave its first tour of the city’s Katrina-related devastation.

There is nothing jovial about the loss of property, jobs and lives that New Orleans experienced. To treat that misery as a spectacle is offensive and should elicit the outrage of every Louisianian.

Still, the $35 (adult) and $28 (child) tickets sold out and the bus tour proceeded as planned.

We can’t blame people from other parts of the country for being curious about what happened during and after Katrina.

But we can blame our businesses for exploiting horrific tragedy for their own morbid gain.

CHEERS

Appropriate recognition: We all have parts to play in the workings of our communities, but a handful of people go above and beyond the call.

The Thibodaux Chamber of Commerce next Saturday will recognize a handful of people and groups that make the city a better place to live.

Lawyer Danny Cavell will receive the Frank Kennedy Citizen of the Year award; Thibodaux High senior Lauren Baldwin and E.D. White senior Anna Waguespack are the Teenagers of the Year; Wayne Shell will receive the C. Lindy Hoffmann and Mary Ann Delaune Hoffman Music’s Unsung Hero Award; Thibodaux Family Church is the Member of the Year; John Deere/CAMECO is the Business of the Year; the Thibodaux Police Department and Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office will share the Chairman’s Award; and Nicholls State University gets the President’s Award.

Congratulations to all these deserving recipients on their awards, and thanks to them for improving Thibodaux for its residents and businesses.

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